The Passing of a Loyal Friend
by JohnnyStyle
Summary: Secret Service Agent Brittany Taylor takes a bullet for President-Elect Jodie Landon-Mackenzie. Rated T for some violence, adult themes and Kevin being Kevin.


The Passing of a Loyal Friend

There was no long shout of no. The bodyguard simply pushed her charge to the ground and then stood in the path of the incoming gunfire. The other bodyguards quickly identified where the gunfire was coming from and returned fire. The blonde haired athletic woman who had stepped in the way of the incoming bullets also tried to draw her side arm. However she felt something wrong and when she drew her hand away she saw it was covered in blood. Her own blood, it seemed she must have taken a bullet or maybe two.

"Britt?" asked her terrified charge.

"Just stay down Jodie," the bodyguard said as she slumped to the ground. "Don't worry I'm sure the others will…"

"Some one help," Jodie Landon-Mackenzie screamed. "Some one help her, call an ambulance, please she's my… "

Brittany Taylor didn't hear the rest as she began the trip down memory lane rumoured to occur when one was near death.

* * *

She was young, so young she still didn't have her younger brother and her mother hadn't yet been snatched from her by fate. She was in the first grade of elementary school and it was lunchtime. She was also sitting with her new friend Jodie. Some older boys were throwing a football around. One of them missed a catch and the ball hit Jodie in the head causing her to drop her sandwich on the ground. Jodie began to cry. So Brittany offered what was left of her lunch, claiming it wasn't her favourite anyway. Jodie's tears dried to a sniffle and the dark skinned girl offered her fair skin friend a smile. They split what was left of Brittany's lunch evenly.

A few years later when her brother had been born but her Mom was still with her, Jodie had come over to play at Brittany's house after school one afternoon. Jodie complained about her Mom never being home now that Rachel had started kindergarten. Her Dad was home all the time but was often involved in his stupid coffee cup research, as Jodie put it at the time. Brittany hugged the other girl, and then suggested they bake some cookies for Mr. Landon. After all maybe he need something to give him a break from work. So they went to find Mrs. Taylor to help them.

A sad memory, Brittany is watching her mother's coffin being lowered in the ground. Her younger brother Brian doesn't seem to understand. Brittany herself wishes she didn't as her tears flow to the earth. She feels a grip tighten on her hand. She looks down and there is Jodie's ebony hand encircling hers. All she can do is thank the other girl for being there through these difficult few months.

A happier memory now, a time just before Sandi Griffin found out she had poor grades and may have to repeat a year (forcing her mother to save face by transferring Sandi to another school). Jodie was trying to decide whether to run for student council. Brittany encouraged her to go for it. After all Jodie was always willing to listen to another student's problems and was respected by all the school staff. Brittany finished by promising her vote.

Middle School now, Brittany's Dad had been dating Ashley-Amber for a little while. It was conflicting because the woman was ditzy, nice and seemed to make her father happy but sometimes Brittany felt like they were betraying her mother. Brian still didn't really understand, it was something that worried Brittany but neither she nor Jodie knew what they could do about it. One day during this time Brittany found Jodie staring at sport sign up sheets on one of the school notice boards. Jodie explained that her parents wanted her to take up a sport in order to balance out her extra circular activities, she just couldn't decide on what. After Brittany's initial suggestion of cheerleading was shot down, Jodie bounced a few ideas off the blonde girl. Brittany eventually suggested tennis. Jodie agreed as she already knew most of the people who played from her other activities and there wasn't as much pressure to win as the other sports on offer.

First year of High School, Michael 'Mack' Mackenzie had finally gained enough courage to ask Jodie out. Brittany had always found it sweet the way he had been crushing on her friend since they had first met in middle school. There was just one little problem, one clad permanently in a football uniform called Kevin Thompson. How would Jodie and Mack have an enjoyable first date if Kevin tagged along? No one really knew why Kevin would follow Mack around or why Mack tolerated it. Brittany came to a decision, it took awhile but she eventually convinced Kevin to ask her out. After all she was a cheerleader he was a football player it was natural right? So when Mack took Jodie to the pizza place, Brittany would get Kevin to take her to the movies and vice versa.

This soon led to what Brittany often called the great sacrifice. Thankfully Kevin was good at taking directions as long as you could talk like a football coach. The subsequent encounters improved greatly. Sometimes she would think back and wonder why. The answer was of course so Jodie and Mack could spend an uninterrupted weekend together. It could have been worse of course Brittany just regretted that it wasn't with some one more meaningful.

Daria had hit the school like an atom bomb. Sure the initial impact came from Quinn Morgandorffer but it was Daria Morgandorffer that would leave the lasting impression on everyone. She had even got Jane Lane, who usually only came alive in Ms. Dofoe's art class, to open up. Brittany often had to suppress laughter at a jibe directed at Kevin or some other dumb jock that Jane and Daria would often fire off. It was strange to finally meet some one that could very well be Jodie's intellectual equal, maybe even superior in some fields. So whenever Jodie started to complain about some new scheme cooked up by Ms. Li or needed a short break from asking for volunteers Brittany would try to usher her long time friend towards Daria. In the first case Daria would offer some new viewpoints for Jodie to think about. In the second Daria and Jane's flat out refusal to be altruistic towards anything would offer Jodie a chance to gossip with the two, complain about what ever the volunteers were wanted for or just slam her head down on a cafeteria table in frustration.

Then there was the day Daria had locked herself in a toilet stall and was refusing to come out. Both Jane and Jodie were trying to coax the girl out when Brittany entered. It seems the issue was with the contacts Daria had recently tried. Brittany in her own special way had tried to explain why Daria being concerned about looks made her feel less like an idiot. Brittany wasn't sure if the message got through, as she knew she was never eloquent. But it seemed to do the trick and the brunette girl opened the door and had Jane escort her away. Jodie turned to Brittany and thanked her, as she had been worried about their friend.

Then of course there were all those days Jodie seemed like she was going to snap. In those cases it was easy. Confront Kevin with his latest dalliance, be it with Angie, a fashion clubber or an Oakwood girl. Brittany perhaps had trained him too well. Then imagine losing Jodie, her father, her ditzy but loving and supportive step mom Ashley-Amber and even Brian sometimes. Then run into Jodie and mumble about the break up through the tears. Jodie would always drop everything just to consol her blonde friend. Of course Brittany had to get more creative when Jodie had started to suspect the head cheerleader didn't really care what Kevin did or with who.

Brittany had got into college, not a good one of course but she still did something many thought she wouldn't. Jodie had been accepted into Turner. It was to be their first time apart since they had met so long ago. Brittany bought a new cell phone before she left. Jodie was the only recipient of the new number other than immediate family. After a few months Britt realised college was not for her at around the same time opportunity came knocking. She became the star of an independent horror movie called _Who is the final girl?_ It became an instant classic and two sequels where quickly commissioned and job offers for similar low budget work came pouring in. She was on the set of the movie that would pay for her breast reduction surgery, from the most qualified doctor she found, when Jodie called. Jodie's relationship with Mack was becoming too strained due to the long distance. They had broken up. Filming was halted on _Revenge upon the Final Girl_ as Brittany rushed to her friend's side. A small smile appeared on Jodie's tear streaked face when she opened her door to find Brittany holding several tubs of ice cream.

Brittany decided to join the military after her stint as an actress. It was while serving over seas that she first saw Jodie's name on a ballot for some high office in the government. Brittany had no trouble deciding who got her vote that year. Jodie didn't win that time but vowed to continue trying.

Brittany was back home on leave when she received a call from Jodie. Apparently the African American girl had run into Mack at a coffee shop she frequented. It seems he was in the same town acting as Kevin Thompson's manager. Jodie was fretting over what to do; she still had feelings for Mack after all. Brittany considered for a moment. Her advice was to pursue the possibility, after all she had explained that the team Kevin was currently with was the only one that wanted him so it was unlikely Mack would have to move away causing the strain that had lead to Jodie and he breaking up in the first place. Of course Brittany followed football it reminded her of a simpler time.

After several stumbling blocks, often caused by a still football uniform clad Kevin Thompson, Jodie and Mack got engaged. Brittany unfortunately couldn't attend the wedding due to being deployed. She sent a card and received a letter in return. Jodie and Mack thanked her for the hard work she was doing abroad and how they realised in the face of that their wedding wasn't important. Brittany sent a letter back. It said simply that Jodie and Mack were more important then anything.

Brittany had retired from her hard and sometimes ethically questionable military life. She was thinking about acting again. Maybe some upstart out there was thinking of subverting the role of the tough sarge role by casting some one like her. Jodie came to visit her small apartment, which was kind of strange for a governor to do, to relay some wonderful news. She had place Brittany's hand on her belly. No visible signs yet but it could only mean one thing. Jodie and Mack had been trying for sometime and it was wonderful it had finally happened. Jodie offered Brittany the role of godmother. Despite the protest about not being suited Jodie had patiently explained that Britt was the most kind heart person she knew. Jodie definitely wanted her child to grow up knowing the power of that kindness. Brittany accepted then and there. It got Brittany to thinking perhaps she should look into job options closer to home.

Jodie had been surprised to a see a familiar face amongst the secret service agents assigned to her after becoming a front-runner in the presidential race. The sunglasses didn't look right on Brittany. No doubt Jodie's daughter would think her godmother looked cool. Nether the less candidate Landon-Mackenzie was glad to have some one she trusted protecting her and her family. Brittany had fought hard to get assigned to Jodie rather than the other guys.

* * *

The final memories blurred together and Brittany briefly rejoined the land of the living. She was being held in the lap of the new president-elect, who was kneeling amidst the chaos of other agents searching for the assassin, reporters scrambling for the story and supporters walking around in disbelief. Cameras flashed capturing the brief moments as they played out. One photojournalist spotted the tears streaming from the president-elect's eyes for her fading bodyguard. Kneeling down himself he caught the emotion in digital storage.

"Brittany," Jodie pleaded. "Help is coming just stay awake."

"I voted for you," the squeak long thought banished re-entered the blonde woman's voice. "I always do."

"Britt don't…"

Brittany reached up and stroked Jodie's face leaving a streak of blood to mingle with the tears. That observant photojournalist snapped another picture.

"You know most of the things I did that were worth doing I did for you," the dying woman gasped. "You're a good friend."

"You are to," Jodie said grasping Brittany's blood soaked hands in hers. "Thank you for being my friend."

The light faded from the eyes of the secret service agent and Brittany Taylor was no more.

The paramedics, who arrived much to late, found president-elect Jodie Landon still cradling her friend in her arms.

* * *

"As expected today," the news reporter began. "President Jodie Landon-Mackenzie honoured the sacrifice of secret service agent and long time friend, Brittany Taylor in her inauguration speech."

"Ms Taylor was also Godmother of the President's and First Gentleman's, Michael Mackenzie-Landon, only child. In her speech the president promised to work hard to implement the policies she campaigned on and honour the sacrifice of secret service agent Brittany Taylor. She said she would honour it by being a friend to the citizens of this nation and those of our allies abroad. She also thanked the rest of the secret service for their prompt capture of the gunman that made the attempt on her life."

"At this time it is still unknown if the person was working alone or was part of some larger organization," The reporter finished. "Investigations are continuing."


End file.
